The shadow secretary of state for work and pensions is an office within British politics held by a member of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition. The duty of the office holder is to scrutinise the actions of the government's secretary of state for work and pensions and develop alternative policies.

List of shadow secretaries

Shadow Minister of Pensions and National Insurance
NameEntered officeLeft officePolitical partyShadow Cabinet
Hilary Marquand15 July 195516 November 1959LabourAttlee
Gaitskell
Richard Crossman16 November 195914 March 1960Labour
Douglas Houghton14 March 196021 February 1963Labour
Brown
Dick Mitchison21 February 196316 October 1964LabourWilson
Richard Wood16 October 196429 October 1964ConservativeDouglas-Home
Margaret Thatcher29 October 19646 October 1965Conservative
Heath
Charles Longbottom6 October 196513 April 1966Conservative
Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Services
See Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Services
Shadow Secretary of State for Social Security
Michael Meacher2 November 198918 July 1992LabourKinnock
Donald Dewar18 July 199219 October 1995LabourSmith
Beckett
Blair
Chris Smith19 October 19951 July 1996Labour
Harriet Harman1 July 19962 May 1997Labour
Peter Lilley2 May 199719 June 1997ConservativeMajor
Iain Duncan Smith19 June 199715 June 1999ConservativeHague
David Willetts15 June 199914 September 2001Conservative
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
David Willetts14 September 20016 May 2005ConservativeDuncan Smith
Howard
Malcolm Rifkind6 May 20056 December 2005Conservative
Philip Hammond6 December 20052 July 2007ConservativeCameron
Chris Grayling2 July 200719 January 2009Conservative
Theresa May19 January 200911 May 2010Conservative
Yvette Cooper11 May 20108 October 2010LabourHarman I
Douglas Alexander8 October 201020 January 2011LabourMiliband
Liam Byrne20 January 20117 October 2013Labour
Rachel Reeves7 October 20138 June 2015Labour
Stephen Timms Acting8 June 201513 September 2015LabourHarman II
Owen Smith14 September 201527 June 2016LabourCorbyn
Debbie Abrahams27 June 201611 March 2018Labour
Margaret Greenwood11 March 20186 April 2020Labour
Jonathan Reynolds6 April 202029 November 2021Labour & Co-opStarmer
Jonathan Ashworth29 November 20214 September 2023Labour & Co-op
Liz Kendall4 September 20235 July 2024Labour
Mel Stride8 July 20244 November 2024ConservativeSunak
Helen Whately5 November 2024IncumbentConservativeBadenoch